5 THINGS VERN COTTER LEARNED FROM ALL BLACKS CLASH

1 THIS SQUAD COULD MAKE AN IMPACT AT THE WORLD CUP

With less than a year to go until the World Cup, the New Zealander has the nucleus of a very good side who could make a name for themselves at the tournament. With young stars such as Jonny Gray and Rob Harley fiting seamlessly into the team, and some old stalwarts including Ross Ford looking back to their best, Cotter has that vital mix of youth and experience that is vital to any successful side. The Scots have also shown a high level of consistency against Argentina and the All Blacks that was missing under previous coaches.

2 BT MURRAYFIELD CAN BE TURNED INTO A FORTRESS

A near sold-out stadium, with the fans in great voice, helped inspire a Scotland team who looked fired up from the first whistle against the All Blacks. More used to seeing their heroes steamrollered by New Zealand in Edinburgh, the supporters appreciated the fact that Cotter’s side were trying to take the game to the world’s best side and responded in kind. The early evening kick-off under floodlights also added to the atmosphere.

3 TOMMY SEYMOUR IS ONE OF THE BEST SCOTLAND WINGERS OF RECENT YEARS

How often have we seen a Scotland wide man produce a moment of brilliance and then disappear into his shell the next game? Not Seymour. One week after his interception helped put the game beyond the Argentinians, the Glasgow Warriors man did the same on Saturday. And it was no lesser a figure than Richie McCaw who was left flailing as his pass was picked up by the 26-year-old on his way to scoring Scotland’s only try.

4 BACK-ROW BLEND IS ENERGETIC WITH STRENGTH IN DEPTH

Rob Harley, Blair Cowan and Adam Ashe kept working and disrupting the All Blacks defence. It was no coincidence that Dan Carter had a poor game on his return to the international fold as Cowan, in particular, did his best to get in the face of the legendary stand-off. When you add in back-row pair David Denton and Johnnie Beattie, who both came off the bench, this is an area of strength for Scotland and will be leaving Cotter purring with delight.

5 HE’LL HAVE PROBLEMS FITTING GRANT GILCHRIST BACK INTO THE SIDE WHEN FIT

Based on Jonny Gray’s performances against Argentina and New Zealand, it will be nigh on impossible to drop him. Gilchrist, who had been named as skipper before the viagogo Autumn Tests, would have started ahead of Gray in both games if he hadn’t broken his arm just prior to the series starting. In his absence, the Glasgow man has been immense.